Paring Knife Complete

The paring knife for my wife's kitchen set is now finished.  Here are a few photos showing the build.

Here's a group shot showing the four knives.  As you can see, I have started the grind on the paring knife.  I'll take this knife through to completion before I start the next.

This is a close up of the blade after receiving a 600 grit hand-rubbed finish.

All ready for some bolsters.

Here are the front bolsters after they have been drilled and fit to the blade.  I have them pinned together and I'm putting a 600 grit finish on the face of the bolsters.

Now, the front bolsters get a 30 degree dovetail that will lock in the scales.

Here the bolsters have been peened onto the blade and the pins have been ground down.

This is a spine shot to show off the dovetails.

The Micarta scales get attached in a similar way except they are not peened in place yet, just held in place until the rear bolsters are attached.

Here's the knife after the rear bolsters have been attached and the scales epoxied in place.  Looks like a hot mess at this point, but it gets better soon.

Looks much better now.  After a trip to the grinder, the handle gets ground down to a pleasing and comfortable shape to hold.  At this point the handle has been taken to 120 grit.  I will take the finish all the way up to 1200 grit.

And here's a somewhat decent pic of the finished knife.  Looks pretty darn good and feels even better in the hand.  Only three more to go before the big day.  I sure hope I can pull all of this together in time for Christmas.  If not, it might turn into a Valentines gift.  Thanks for following along with me on this build.  Now, on to the boning knife.

- Brandant Robinson